WPR13FA123

The airplane was in cruise flight about 2,000 feet above the ground when several witnesses reported hearing a loud "crack," "pop," or "snap" sound and then looking up and seeing something separate from the airplane and then pieces falling to the ground. The outboard 4 feet of the right wing was found about 2,000 feet away from the main wreckage, and a turkey vulture carcass was found near the wing section. Postaccident examinations of the wing section revealed blood spots and a downy barbule, which was identified as a fragment of a turkey vulture feather.

The airplane was a single-engine, propeller-driven, single-seat airplane, which was manufactured by Avions Fairey in Charleroi, Belgium, in 1959. Its maximum takeoff gross weight was about 727 pounds. It was powered by a Jabiru 2200 reciprocating, direct drive, air-cooled, normally aspirated engine, which had a maximum takeoff rating of 80 horsepower at sea level. The airplane had a welded steel tube fuselage and rudder, with a wood and fabric covered wing and empennage. The airplane was certificated in the U.S. as an experimental airplane in the exhibition category. On February 13, 2013, about 1615 Pacific standard time, an Avions Fairey Tipsy Nipper T-66, N1959N, was destroyed when it impacted with terrain following a bird strike in cruise flight near Winters, California. The commercial pilot, the sole occupant of the airplane, was fatally injured. The pilot/owner was operating the airplane under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the personal cross-country flight, which had originated from Yolo County Airport, Davis/Winters, California, approximately 15 minutes before the accident. A flight plan had not been filed, but friends of the pilot said that his destination was Nut Tree Airport, Vacaville, California. Several witnesses reported hearing a loud "crack" or "snap" sound. They looked up to see something separate from the airplane, and two pieces fluttering or spiraling/spinning to the ground. One witness thought the airplane was at least 2,000 feet above the ground when he heard the "pop" sound. Another witness thought the airplane had hit something. All the witnesses reported that the weather was very nice and very clear. There was no postimpact fire. The Solano County Coroner's Office performed an autopsy on the pilot on February 14, 2013. The FAA's Civil Aeromedical Institute (CAMI) in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, performed toxicology tests on the pilot. The tests were negative for ethanol and drugs. Tests for carbon monoxide and cyanide were not performed. The main wreckage was located next to Interstate Highway 505. The California State Highway Patrol located the outboard 4 feet of the right wing approximately 2,000 feet north of the main wreckage. Additionally, a dead turkey vulture was found alongside the interstate highway about 50 feet north of the main wreckage. The wing section was shipped to the National Transportation Safety Board's Materials Laboratory located in Washington, D.C., for analysis. Blood spots were identified in the section, and those samples were sent to the Smithsonian Institution Feather Identification Laboratory. Their expert reported finding a downy barbule, which was identified to be a fragment of a turkey vulture feather. According to the expert, turkey vultures weigh an average of 4.5 pounds and have a wing span of up to 6 feet.